SBIR Phase I: 3D Printing Reentry Capsules

SBIR 第一阶段：3D 打印再入舱

• 批准号: 2330355
• 负责人: Blake Herren
• 金额: $ 27.5万
• 依托单位: RAVEN SPACE SYSTEMS, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-12-15 至 2024-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2330355&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; 3D; Printing; Reentry

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to accelerate humanity’s utilization and exploration of space. The International Space Station spends $1 billion annually on cargo transport but has limited opportunities for payload return each year. This bottleneck is caused by outdated reentry vehicle production that hinders microgravity research and in-space manufacturing developments. The problem is becoming more pressing as commercial space stations are expected to increase space cargo return demand significantly in the next decade. By using 3-dimensional (3D) printing, manufacturing and refurbishment of entire reentry capsules (both the structure and heat shield) is 10 times faster and an estimated 95% lower in cost compared to traditional manufacturing. This innovative 3D printing solution will increase the cadence and lower the cost of space station cargo resupply and return, promoting the development of a robust low Earth orbit economy. Frequent returns of high-value payloads from space will have substantial impacts on several industries including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, fiber optics, etc. The technology will also provide rapid low-cost development of vehicles for various atmospheric entry or hypersonic applications including space resource return, deep space probes, rapid global delivery, hypersonic flight testing, and more. This SBIR Phase I project will develop 3D printing of high-strength heat shield materials. The research will test 3D printed specimens to demonstrate the feasibility of the first ever, entirely 3D printed capsules capable of surviving reentry from space. The core innovation is a platform technology that will be capable of rapid, large-scale, direct ink write 3D printing of aerospace-grade thermoset composite paste materials for the first time. To achieve this, the commercially available and widely proven thermoset resins will be cured directly at the point of deposition in seconds using a novel rapid heating method. These materials typically require hours in an oven to cure, so the project is expected to demonstrate curing the highest-performing aerospace-grade materials faster than they have ever been cured before. This in-situ curing direct ink write 3D printing innovation will be a breakthrough in aerospace composite manufacturing. The composite formulations used in the project will be made of the same raw materials as used on flight-proven reentry capsule heat shields, but tailorable to be as strong as aluminum at half the weight. The composites will perform as both the structure and heat shield on reentry capsules.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是加速人类对空间的利用和探索。国际空间站每年在货物运输上花费10亿美元，但每年返回有效载荷的机会有限。这一瓶颈是由过时的再入飞行器生产造成的，阻碍了微重力研究和空间制造的发展。随着商业空间站预计将在未来十年大幅增加空间货物返还需求，这个问题变得更加紧迫。通过使用三维(3D)打印，整个返回舱(结构和隔热罩)的制造和翻新比传统制造快10倍，成本估计低95%。这一创新的3D打印解决方案将增加节奏，降低空间站货物再补给和返回的成本，促进稳健的近地轨道经济发展。高价值有效载荷频繁从太空返回将对制药、半导体、光纤等多个行业产生重大影响。该技术还将为各种大气层进入或高超声速应用提供快速低成本的开发，包括空间资源返回、深空探测器、快速全球发射、高超声速飞行测试等。这个SBIR一期项目将开发高强度隔热材料的3D打印。这项研究将测试3D打印样本，以证明有史以来第一个完全3D打印的太空舱能够从太空返回地球的可行性。核心创新是一种平台技术，将能够首次对航空航天级热固性复合浆料进行快速、大规模、直接墨写3D打印。为了实现这一点，商业上可获得并得到广泛验证的热固性树脂将使用一种新的快速加热方法在几秒钟内直接在沉淀点固化。这些材料通常需要在烤箱中烘烤数小时才能固化，因此该项目预计将展示出比以往任何时候都更快地固化性能最高的航空航天级材料。这种原位固化直写3D打印的创新将是航空航天复合材料制造的突破。该项目中使用的复合材料配方将使用与飞行验证的再入舱隔热罩相同的原材料，但可以裁剪成与铝一样坚固，重量只有铝的一半。这种复合材料将作为返回舱的结构和隔热材料。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。